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Tag Archives: Madness

On September 30, 1948, actor Robert Mitchum (Story of G.I. Joe, Cape Fear) was released from prison following his charge of marijuana possession. Mitchum was an up-and-coming star in Hollywood. He had received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor two years earlier for his role in Story of G.I. Joe, and appeared in four feature films in 1947, including Pursued, Crossfire, Desire Me, and Out of the Past. He also worked with director Robert Wise (The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story) in a western film earlier in 1948 called Blood on the Moon. His recent string of success, however, only made his bust on September 1st that much worse.

Mitchum was found with actress Lila Leeds (Lady in the Lake, Wild Weed) and dancer Vicki Evans. With the 60s still more than a decade out, and public opinion towards marijuana still very much in the light of propaganda films like Reefer Madness (1936), the young actor feared the very public arrest would effectively end his acting career. It didn’t help that industry names like Howard Hughes (Scarface, The Outlaw), David O. Selznick (King Kong, Gone with the Wind), and the press constantly berated him during this period. But his famous bust that could have completely ended his career ended up doing just the opposite. Continue reading →

This week will see a whole collection of independent limited releases happening across the country. First on the list is The Big Short from director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby), starring Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Hustle), Steve Carell (The Office, Seeking A Friend for the End of the World), Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines), and Brad Pitt (Babel, By The Sea). The film, based on the novel by Michael Lewis, follows four friends who predicted the housing market collapse in the mid 2000s and bet against the odds with the national banks, becoming nearly instant millionaires. The film was last seen at the AFI Film Festival in LA earlier this year, and a further nationwide expansion is still expected for 2016. Continue reading →

H.H. Holmes, electrical appliances, Hershey’s Mile Chocolate, and the world’s first Ferris Wheel (pictured above) were some of the highlights of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas) will once again be teaming up with his Wolf of Wall Street and The Departed star Leonardo DiCaprio for an upcoming adaptation of author Erik Larson‘s The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. The book tells the story of “America’s first serial killer,” H.H. Holmes, who during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair is believed to be responsible for the murders of at least 27 people. Holmes was hanged in 1896 for his crimes of building a hotel (now famously known as The Murder Castle) in which he would prey and torture his ‘guests’ before finally killing them, all the while disguising himself as a doctor. Although he confessed to 27 murders, the actual total is believed to be in the hundreds. During his trial, Holmes stated that he could not help his position in life as a serial killer, and that the “Evil One” was present at the bedside when he was born and stuck with and influenced him for the rest of his life. DiCaprio actually acquired the rights to the book/film six years ago, and since then production has been on hold until a solid director and writer could come onboard to fully adapt the project. Screenwriter Billy Ray (The Hunger Games, Captain Phillips) is expected to adapt the book for the big screen. Stay tuned for further news updates!

Bob Burnquist & Oakley have released the second episode to their new web series entitled “Dreamland”. This installment features Bob doing some pretty insane tricks off of a frickin helicopter, peep the pilot’s skills as well. Check out the video and stay tuned for the next episode once it arrives.